Heading to the Aleutians

For a long time, Woodsen and I have dreamed of exploring the Aleutians in our own plane. I’d say the idea first blossomed while Woodsen was working for Lifemed in Dutch Harbor in 2015. During his time working in Dutch I was able to fly down with him and experience the Island for myself. I had a ball exploring the island with wonderful weather, eating Sushi at Harbor Sushi, watching Woodsen paragliding off Ballyhoo, and the cherry on top was being invited on a Grant Aviation flight to Umnak Island by one of Woodsen’s former co-workers, Chad.

Between my dreamy time exploring Dutch, my flight to Umnak, and hearing our friend James tell us about hot springs, wild cows, and the wild and beautiful landscape in Dutch and Umnak, both Woodsen and I set our sights on coming back in our own plane to explore.

Ten years later, it was finally happening.

James, who had plenty of experience flying in the Aleutians, had recommended late May or early June as the best time to visit the area. Late enough to miss the harsh spring winds, but before the foggy months set in. As we watched the weather leading up to the first of June, a weather window seemed to be forming that fit into Woodsen’s time off. On June 3rd, our family headed to the airplane to load up and head towards the Alaska penisnula.

Going into this trip, we knew there would be new and uncharted topography, with new and exciting themes and opportunities. One theme we were excited to explore was the many volcanoes that dotted the landscape down the chain. After taking off and flying out of the Mat-su valley, the first Volcano we came to, and a familiar one to us, was Mt Redoubt in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. Redoubt is an active volcano that last erupted in 2009. Our trips to visit our friends, the Markwoods, who fish near Drift River, had brought us quite close to this mountain. You can read more about our visits to them here.

As we passed Polly Creek, where we’ve enjoyed clamming over the years, we approached the distinct angular and ramp-like shape of Chisik Island, Slope, and Triangular Mountain, and with it, we entered new territory for all of us.

As we continued, Southwest views of another volcano, Mt Iliamna, could be spotted in the distance.

The next volcano was Mt Augustine, which proudly stood as a lone island in the Cook Inlet. It created quite a dramatic view as we flew past. The kids were clearly impressed by this volcano emerging from the water, but quickly decided that the only thing better than flying by it was to fly over it. Soon, Woodsen was steering the airplane towards the volcano’s crater so the kids could peer into it. Unfortunately for you, the kids got the good view, and I couldn’t capture any photos from my side of the plane.

The view remained spectacular as we rounded Cape Douglas and headed towards Cape Chiniak.

Two hours of flying down, and two to go (thankfully, it turned out to be less than two hours). Eska Napped while the kids busied themselves looking out the window, eating snacks, brushing each other’s hair, listening to music, and making plenty of noise on the intercom. One of the best upgrades we’ve made to our airplane is the “pilot” &” crew” buttons that isolate the kids on their own channel, or me and the kids on a channel.

Next we flew over Hallo Bay, known for its spectacular scenary and brown bear viewing.

The wild coastline continued as we passed Amalik, and Katmai Bay.

When planning our trip, Woodsen had found a landing strip close to Becheroff Lake, the second largest lake in Alaska. We hoped to break up the distance to Umnak into 2.5 to 3hr flights, and Becheroff Lake hit that mark for our first flight. Being a bit Inland, Becheroff offered water and beaches without the wind that you would expect on the beaches of the coast. We turned away from the coast and headed inland towards the lake.

We flew over the strip Woodsen had picked out, and while it appeared a bit barren and plain after some of the Dramatic bays we had just flown over, we decided to land and make the most of it. We knew that flying back to the coast and finding a spot to camp could take an unknown amount of time, and the kids’ energy levels were building as tolerance for sitting in the plane was quickly waning

Once on the ground, we were pleasantly surprised by our surroundings. What had looked bare and brown from the air turned out to have plenty of character. When I opened my door a tiny patch of bright blue flowers greeted me. The kids were thrilled with sand, tundra, and a beach in the distance to explore.

We unloaded the plane and began setting up camp and exploring our new surroundings. The first flight of our adventure was successfully completed.